“Oh please. He forced your hand. You would have never wanted that baby alive.”
“You have me wrong, Colby. I loved Skye. I would have accepted the news not because I care about the Stricklands but because I care about you. You’re my son. I would have been a grandmother, and a proud one at that.”
Nina emerged and Colby looked at her. So many had suffered from generations of feuding. At what point did it stop? So many lives had been torn away, all for what? “I didn’t know anyone had seen me that night. I swear. I loved your father. I wish he was here.” She dipped her chin then looked at Colby. She knew better than to try and reach out and touch him. He was processing. Grappling with the grief again. He caught sight of Alicia. Her forlorn face. Another reminder of what he’d lost.
“I’m sorry, son.”
She retreated into the house only to exit a few minutes later, carrying a bag, looking every bit composed and full of purpose. “Gary, Niles, help your brothers lock down the perimeter and ensure those claymore mines are working and ready to go. Expect trouble. Terry, Wayne, alert the rest of our family. Laura, Annalise, bring down the shutters on all the windows. No one goes out until I return.”
“Where are you going?” Colby said, falling in stride with her as she made her way over to the stables.
“To speak with the sheriff and deal with this matter before more blood is shed.”
“You’re going down there by yourself?”
She saddled up a horse, then finally answered “He needs to know what the militia have done to Jessie. He needs to know about Paco. Maybe I can help the situation.”
“Help? You’re liable to make it worse. No, Mother, stay here. I’ll go speak to him. I shot those men. He’ll understand if it comes from me. We have an understanding.”
“Right.” She laughed. “Because Rikers have always had an understanding with Stricklands.”
“No, but law enforcement does.”
She stopped what she was doing, her eyes narrowing.
“You didn’t know, did you?” he said. She kept staring, waiting for him to drop the bomb. “That’s right. I used to be a cop in L.A. I arrested people like us. You. The Stricklands. How about that?”
She breathed in deeply as if trying to center herself or prevent herself from losing her mind. “Well, I guess I’m not the only one keeping secrets then, am I?” she said.
“No.”
She continued to get the horse ready to leave.
“Listen, you go down there after what I just did, after what they’ve just done, and it won’t just be Paco that needs help.”
“They wouldn’t dare try anything.”
“You don’t get it, do you? They already have. Please. Just stay here and I’ll go.”
“And get yourself locked up with Alby, shot or strung up? No. I’m responsible for this family. For what happened to your father, to Skye, to Jessie.”
“Oh so now you change your tune. You want to take all the blame, is that right? You want to be the martyr?”
She climbed up onto the horse. “Son, you might not understand everything I have done but it has always been for this family.”
Colby took hold of the reins. “Then if you’re going. So am I.”
“Me too.” Dylan appeared with Zeke beside him. “We all go.”
“No.”
“Try to stop us,” they said, heading for the ATVs. His mother pursed her lips and looked down at Colby.
“You are as stubborn as your father.”
“You mean, as stubborn as you.”
“That as well.” She extended a hand and he climbed up onto the back of the horse.
The horse trotted out and Colby called out to Alicia, “Stay here. Look after Kane. I’ll be back shortly.”
Their entry into Eureka didn’t require much effort. Despite the new rules in place, attempting to block off the city limits had proven to be a difficult task. Although there were a few close calls with the militia, they managed to arrive at the County Sheriff’s Office without being stopped.
Cathy was the first to see them. By the look on her face, she must have known the visit meant trouble. All of them were carrying rifles. TJ and Eric, two of his other brothers, were in sniper positions on top of buildings close to the department. They’d been given specific instructions. In the event all hell broke loose, they were to open fire on anyone who tried to stop them.
Deputy Johnson was the first to approach. He had three officers with him, each of them had a Glock in hand, expecting trouble. “You know I have to place you under arrest, Colby.”
“Save the drama for later, Johnson,” Martha said, charging past him. “Where’s the sheriff?”
“He’s busy.”
“Well, then we’ll wait,” she said, walking over to the seating area.
“You can’t bring those in here,” Johnson said, motioning to their firearms.
“You plan on taking them?”
“It’s the rules.”
Martha laughed. “The rules. Please. Get Dan out here now and we’ll discuss these new rules as I’m pretty sure those who made them have already broken a few of their own.”
Johnson looked like he’d just graduated police college. He wasn’t sure what to do. He could try to take their weapons by force and start a war inside the police department or go and get the militia. He did neither. He told the officers to keep an eye on the Rikers while he informed Dan of their arrival.
Martha crossed her legs and began filing her nails with an emery board while she waited. She glanced at the officers, uninterested, unafraid. With all her years of living outside the law, she had grown used to caring little for what came out of the mouths of law enforcement. It existed for the rest of society. A buffer. A false sense of security that failed communities more than it helped.
It didn’t take long for Dan to show his face.
“All right deputies, at ease,” he said. “I’ve got this.” He gave Martha
